1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to musical percussion instruments and, more specifically, to an improved tambourine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This invention generally relates to a “headless” tambourine, which is a percussion musical instrument used in contemporary rock music. Conventional tambourines are circular in shape and include sounding elements that essentially jingle mounted in slots circumferentially spaced around the circular frame.
One drawback of conventional tambourines is that the hand and arm can become tired because the instrument is typically grasped at one edge of the circular frame. Thus, a large moment of force is created by holding the frame on an edge, which causes discomfort to the user. Grasping of the instrument can also be awkward because of the shape of the frame in relation to the position of the grasping hand.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,015, issued to the inventor of the subject application, a tambourine is disclosed that includes a frame having a grasping portion disposed at or near the center of gravity of the rim such that the tambourine may be comfortably held for long periods of time. The handle can be disposed near the geometrical center of the rim. However, the teaching that the handle be disposed at or near the center of gravity of the rim can present a disadvantage. By totally or substantially eliminating the distance between the geometrical center of the handle and the center of gravity, the user may have the perception is that there is virtually no moment because the virtual pivot point may coincide with the geometrical center of the handle. Without the feel of a moment force, there can be some loss of the “feel” of a tambourine and a loss of control, as a user may anticipate, that such moment force does or will exist during use.